Axum


(also spelled Aksum) was in existence at the imperial capital of the mighty Axumite Empire. The ancient city is also the site of Ethiopia’s oldest Christian sanctuary, the cathedral of Tsion Maryam, founded in the 4th century and still regarded to be the spiritual home of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.

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Lalibela
The strange, isolated town of lalibela, set high in the mountains of lasta, is famed for its rock-hewn churches, and is arguably the one place in Ethiopia that no tourist should miss and must be included in Tour to Ethiopia. Known as Roha until recent times, Lalibela was the capital of the Zagwe dynasty, which ruled over Ethiopia from the 10th century to the mid 13th century, and its modern name derives from that of the most famous of the Zagwe rulers, the 12th century king Lalibela.

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Gondar

is one of the main tourist attractions on the Northern Historical Circuit, best known for its 17th –century castles and palaces, but studded with several other points of interest, most notably the fantastically decorate church of Debre Brihan Selassie ten minutes’ walk from the town centre. Gonder is also the obvious base from which to stage day trips or longer treks into the scenic simian mountains National park, Ethiopia’s most popular hiking destination.

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Bahir Dar

Set at an altitude of 1,830m, Lake Tana is the largest Lake in Ethiopia, with a surface area of 3,673km square, and it is also the source of the Blue Nile, a connection that explains many of Ethiopia’s links with the ancient world. Tana was known to the Ancient Greeks as Pseboe, and to the ancient Egyptians as the ‘copper- tinted lake … that is the jewel of Ethiopia’. Even today, the papyrus tankwa that sail the lake bear a striking resemblance to the boats of ancient Egypt.

The Blue Nile Falls
About 30km After it exits Lake Tana, the Blue Nile plunges over a 45m-high rock face to form one of Africa’s most spectacular waterfalls, known locally as Tis Abay(‘smoke of the Nile’) or Tis Isat ( ‘Water that Smokes’). Tis Abay consists of four separate streams and is most impressive for the sheer volume of water that pour over it, particularly during the rainy season. The Nile is 400m wide above the waterfall; in the gorge below, it follows a much narrower course estimated to be 37m deep!

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